Jamie goes back to school at Westbury (From Wiltshire Times)

Jamie goes back to school at Westbury

7:00pm Friday 15th January 2010 in News By Rachel Allen

Jamie McDine, the new artist-in-residence at Matravers School

A film producer who has worked with Stone Roses’ frontman Ian Brown and Oasis has taken on the role of artist-in-residence at Matravers School.

Jamie McDine, 31, will help students use film and animation to improve their grades in all subjects.

Mr McDine, who grew up in Bradford on Avon and Semington and was a pupil at George Ward School in Melksham, worked in Germany, from 2004 to 2008, producing short films and music videos.

He said: “I started working on film and animation with children, which had not been introduced to the German curriculum before.

“The results were amazing – students who were getting Bs and Cs were then getting A grades.”

Mr McDine, who now lives with his fiancee Jackie Oelschloger, in West Ashton, started at Matravers this month.

He will be working with pupils in their classes, adapting film and animation techniques to increase their interest in subjects. He said: “In modern foreign languages, where the children will be learning vocabulary, we could produce a film and script and the more they memorise the script, the more embedded the information would become in their minds.”

He will be working at the school two days a week and has also set up a photography club and an animation club, which will be open to both students in the school and members of the local community.

Heather Leach, Matravers’ head of expressive and performing arts, said: “Having an artist in residence is an exciting opportunity for all of us at Matravers and we know that Jamie will bring all his considerable skills to help the students and staff develop new skills.

“By exploring the possibilities in film and animation, the students will be able to raise their levels of attainment and engagement through a more personalised approach in their GCSE and A-level coursework portfolios.

“We are looking forward to developing all the new techniques that Jamie can bring to our curriculum across different faculties within the school.”